How did this all come about, you wonder? Not your typical “girls weekend” right? Although I do HIGHLY recommend it!! It was a lot of fun stepping outside of our usual realm and learning something new all while bonding!

You see, our friend Georgia, has led this really exciting life! She was a classically trained chef in New York City when she decided to leave the city and learn about where our food really comes from. Georgia traveled with veteran hunters who showed her the ropes and taught her to hunt things like quail, venison, squirrel, turkey, pheasant and elk!

We learned to ignore cameras in our face, as the a couple of Food Network camera guys were there with us for the weekend (rough jobs right? hanging out all weekend with a bunch of women at a hunting ranch! I bet THEY could write a book! HA!)

I loved all of our girl bonding over our new experiences. Sitting around the fire sipping wine, listening to Georgia’s stories about an outing that turned illegal and dangerous, making loon calls and eating s’mores.

I took a lot of video of us shooting our guns and even more pictures, here’s a little more from our weekend in 1:40

I admire Georgia for her passion and courage! Learning about the art of hunting, sipping brandy with the men and gaining their respect and cooking it all up in one inspiring book!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED! Congrats to the winner, comment #13 Valerie Saurer

You don’t have to be a hunter to enjoy Georgia’s book, Girl Hunter Revolutionizing the Way We Eat, One Hunt at a Time. Georgia uses style and wit to introduce us to hunting and the art of cooking what you eat. Throughout the book you will meet several characters, learn how she gets along in a sport dominated by men, and find out how to take food from field and stream to plate with mouth-watering recipes for a variety of wildgame. Girl Hunter is full of enthusiastic stories that any new or experienced hunter, chef or foodie can appreciate.

Required Entry: Tell me about your experience with eat, cooking or hunting wild game. If you don’t have any, tell me about what kind of books you enjoy reading. (if you are reading this post via email, please note that you must enter on the blog post, NOT by replying to the email)

Official Rules: No purchase necessary. Open to residents of US and Canada . Must be over 18. Giveaway will end on January 24, 2012 at 5:00 pm CST. One winner with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be selected. TidyMom, Georgia Pellegrini and Da Capo are not responsible for lost or undelivered emails.

Good Luck!

Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored byDa Capo Lifelong Books. I was sent an advanced copy of Girl Hunter to read. I was not compensated in any way for this review or giveaway.

Cheryl Sousan

A self-proclaimed neat freak, Cheryl chronicles her journey through homemaking on her blog, TidyMom.net, where she shares recipes, tutorials, crafting and her ever-growing love for photography. This St. Louis mom juggles her passion for life, her daughters and her tiger-loving husband, all while her obsession with tidiness cleans up the trail blazed behind her. Google+

100 Responses to “Girl Hunter weekend with Georgia Pellegrini”

I am an avid huntress. The most memorable hunt I have had up to this date was this last years gun deer hunt. My dad was sick with liver cirrhosis and I was preparing myself for the worse and made a point to get in the stand with him again. He was able to sit with me for 2 1/2 hours opening day and that was it. I will never forget it because he passed away two weeks later. I’m glad I took the time to sit with him and didn’t go away to deer camp. Don’t take life for granted and truly think about what are the important things in life.

Wow, I enjoyed reading about this and looks like it was a ton of fun! I use to hunt but have not in years due to back issues. I have so many hunters in my family and I would LOVE to be able to prepare different dishes for them with the wild game. We use to have wild game suppers once a year. Maybe I can get that restarted and share these recipes!

I grew up in South Africa where eating meat has a ritual significance in both traditional and modern South African culture. South Africans are so carnivorous that inviting South Africans to dinner and serving a vegetarian meal may be interpreted as an insult even by sophisticated urban people.
I remember one night there was a large community braai to which our family was invited. There were large rotating spits of every legal animal to eat under the sun. We ate zebra, snake, monkey, ostrich, water buffalo, crocodile, wildebeest, springbok, gemsbok, kudu, hartebeest, and who knows what else. It was truly a culturally eye opening experience, certainly to be cherished in my memory for a lifetime!
We moved to the US 13 years ago, and I married a Texan! Turns out, meat is a pretty big deal to the Texans too!

My husband and his male relatives are the hunters in the family, but since I love the outdoors too, I’m starting to learn as well. I’m only using a rifle so far (and shooting at targets), but my very first shot was a bullseye! With that confidence booster I’ve been fitting shooting in whenever we visit the UP and head out into the woods.
The spoils of small upland game and deer is always welcomed, and I’ve enjoyed roasting quail and making venison chili!

Wow, your weekend sounds great! I have had different experiences with both cooking and eating wild game. One of my favorites and because you were hunting in Texas was squirrel sauce picante prepared by my cajun/texan father in law! Yum! Please enter me in your give away. Thanks! Teri

I’m not entering the giveaway Cheryl. I enjoyed followed the tweets during your girl hunter weekend and your post about it today is just wonderful. It must have been quite a unique experience for you and many of the other ladies. Georgia certainly was a fabulous hostess!

Hunting has been a big yearly event in my family for generations. My husband and son bring home the venison and I fry it up in the pan! We have deer heads, bobcats, and other wild things decorating our home! Love your site Cheryl!!

When I was a little girl I would beg my daddy to take me hunting with him but he always told me I was too little. I never got to go. But I do remember being pretty young, probably around 7 yrs old, that skinned my 1st squirrel! (with a little help from my dad) Then my mom made a delicious stew with dumplings. It was one of my favorite meals growing up.

My brother in law is a huge hunter and he shot a deer one year and brought it to our house. He just cooked it in a frying pan on the stove and surprisingly…I actually enjoyed it! It’s not something I would eat everyday, but I thought it was definitely tasty!

I love this post about your Girl Hunter Weekend. Looks like y’all had a blast. I grew up in Texas, but I live in Alabama now. I’m still a Texas girl at heart, so this makes me miss home.
I have never been hunting and I have never eaten wild game, but I’d like to try one day.
I like to read and currently I am reading a book written by Karen Kingsbury. Thanks for your post and another great giveaway.

I have never shot a gun, or eaten any wild game for that matter. However, my blog partner and I are considering doing a month of target shooting. I immediately remembered seeing your post and how intrigued I was to take a trip like this. You know, to stretch my boundaries. Oh, and since you asked, I like post-apocolyptic literature best of all. Maybe I should learn a little survival skills!

I’m not a hunter, but I’m a DAMN good shot! I started shooting when I became a marksman first class when I was 8. I haven’t shot in years though. When I was 21, about 20 years ago (you do the math) I moved from NH to OR to “hunt” mushrooms for the Summer. I drove with 3 friends across the country stopping at homes of friends along the way. We stopped at the homestead of a friend of a friend of a friend and they opened their home to us for a couple of days. Even though none of us knew them directly, the woman of the house whipped up some fresh venison stroganoff, whipped potatoes, green beans and bisquits, all on the antique pot-bellied stove while we freshened up. The deer was killed by their youngest daughter and the veggies were all freshly harvested. Although I must say, I am not a big fan of venison, that dinner was one I will never forget. It reminded me of a time long gone by, though not in my time, but a time that must have been. Where life was simple, you lived off the land and you were able to open your home to stranger longing for a home cooked meal and a place to lay their head.

Looks like you guys had alot of fun and I just loved the camp sequin dress. I’m going to have to get me one of those. Hunting has always been apart of my life. My family are hunters and my husband is very into hunting. I’ve gone out with him to hunt deer and turkeys. It’s usually the only way to spend time with him during hunting season. We all think that venison is pretty tasty too.

I am a huntress and am passionate about bringing game from the field to the table and to use in our decor. I have been hunting, gathering, cooking, eating and decorating with game for several decades now and may not qualify as a ‘girl hunter’ anymore, so let’s just call me a ‘lady hunter’. My husband and I believe in proper field care and process all our own game, especially venison – that way we know where it came from, how it is taken care of and that it is OUR game. We raised our children loving the hunt and enjoying the food. I make a wonderful venison chili adapted from my great grandfathers 1934 Drug Store recipe. And a fabulous Duck Pate that I decorate at Christmas with lime slices and dried cranberries. We eat game at least once a week and agree that – “Game is one of the last pure products in the world” by John Bain, Baine of Tarves, Scotland.